Brooke Shields' mom Teri Shields dead at age 79

Teri Shields, the mother of U.S. actress and model Brooke Shields, has died in New York after a long illness related to dementia, a family spokesman said.

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She was 79.

The elder Shields was a single mother from New Jersey who worked as a hairstylist and makeup artist before managing her daughter's career.

She was criticized for exploiting Brooke, now 47, by promoting her as a model starting when she was 11 months old, arranging for nude photos to be taken of her when she was 10 and allowing her to play a child prostitute in the 1978 film "Pretty Baby," The New York Times said Tuesday.

"They see total innocence, which is totally there," the Times reported Teri Shields once said. "And two, they have the sexy child too, they have the sexy person -- that appeals to them."